Singapore Grand Prix highlights: Formula One live blog

Formula One packs its bags and is back on the road, heading out to the Far East for the Singapore Grand Prix, as only seven races remain in the 2017 world championship. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race starting from 10pm AEST.

A return to what is described the ‘Monaco of the East’ will see the drivers challenged at the most demanding circuit on the calendar – with the excessive heat turning it into an endurance contest.

At 5km in length and boasting 23 corners, Singapore tends to be only of the only races that regularly ticks over the two-hour mark, with a 100 per cent record of safety car appearances and plenty of carnage.

After losing the lead of the championship for the first time after Monza, Sebastian Vettel comes into this race as the favourite – being the only driver to have won four times around the streets of the Marina Bay.

Ferrari, who are favoured at high-downforce circuits, are certainly in the frame for victory contention, as are Red Bull – while Mercedes AMG brace for struggles.

Despite winning the race in 2016 with Nico Rosberg, the Silver Arrows find themselves in a position similar to 2015, where they could not respond to the speed of the Ferraris and Red Bulls.

With the onus on him to respond, Vettel delivers an emphatic pole position, to out-qualify the two Red Bulls who occupy the top three.

Max Verstappen heads his teammate Daniel Ricciardo in second, after the energy drinks giant being fastest in every practice session until qualifying.

There was clear daylight between Vettel on pole position and where his title rival and championship leader in Lewis Hamilton qualified too, with the Briton only fifth fastest in the Mercedes AMG.

The third row of the grid is locked out by the Silver Arrows, as Valtteri Bottas joins his teammate in sixth.

In what has been a week of headlines for McLaren, both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne secured top ten berths, with the high-downforce nature of the circuit playing aid to the powerless Honda motor.

Can Red Bull throw a spanner into the works and provide an upset for Ferrari, is the big question. Or can Vettel add a fifth win to his tally in Singapore?

Whatever transpires, surely will make an impact on the championship.

Join us on The Roar for live blog coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix, from 10pm AEST as we see who survives the streets of Singapore.

A lengthy, wet and chaotic Singapore Grand Prix sees an unlikely victory Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes AMG, as Ferraris took each other out on the first lap of the shortened race.

Hamilton, who started fifth, survived the first lap carnage that saw his title rival Sebastian Vettel eliminated following a collision with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and teammate Kimi Räikkönen in challenging conditions.

The German upon starting from pole position, veered towards the left to close the door on Verstappen, though had no idea that Räikkönen was coming from the inside – thus squeezing the Red Bull and starting the chain reaction that saw even Fernando Alonso in the melee.

With the first of four safety cars clearing the mess, Hamilton had emerged as the leader and was to not look back – whilst Vettel, Verstappen and Räikkönen were all out on the first lap of the race.

Daniel Ricciardo was unable to provide any challenge to the Silver Arrow of Hamilton, despite the strong showing of pace by Red Bull in the early part of the weekend. Even after switching over to slick tyres at the midway point of the race, the Aussie could not stay with Hamilton.

A lonely second, sees Ricciardo collect a fourth consecutive podium in Singapore, whilst Valtteri Bottas ensured both Mercedes AMGs finished on the rostrum in a race at which the team were set to struggle.

Only twelve cars finished the 59-laps, with eight cars failing to make the chequered flag – of which included Nico Hulkenberg, who now possesses the unwanted record of most races contested without a podium to his name.

The German’s retirement was unfortunate, considering the pace shown by Renault early in the race, which could have seen Hulkenberg collect his maiden Formula One podium.

However, it was Jolyon Palmer who scored the points for Renault, picking up his first points of 2017 with that career best sixth place finish.

A career best drive came too from Carlos Sainz, who utilised the more durable supersoft tyres to earn himself fourth.

Points went begging for Felipe Massa, who from being knocked out of qualifying in Q1, finished in eleventh with some tight battles with likes of Romain Grosjean, Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen, who had to retire.

Hamilton in winning his third consecutive race, extends his lead in the championship to 28-points, as Ferrari and Vettel will rue this lost opportunity – which may have already cost him the title.